Natural gas prices are in the middle of a three-month rectangle. Over the past week, they have been moving upwards due to ongoing protests at LNG plants in Australia, which have increased competition in the gas market during peak demand.
Workers at Chevron's liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in Australia are escalating their strike. On September 8, staff began to suspend production. But today the employees may commence 24-hour strikes.
According to a statement of Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG union members, they plan to begin two-week plant shutdowns starting September 14 if the parties fail to reach an agreement on wages and other conditions. Staff may also be restricted from mooring and loading tankers or other vessels, conducting laboratory tests and restarting equipment.
Chevron has already requested the Australian Fair Work Commission (FWC) to negotiate between the parties under new laws that came into effect in June. The case is scheduled on September 22. Many expect this to help the company avoid prolonged disruptions at its LNG facilities.
According to Shell CEO Kim Code, Australia needs to stimulate new investment in natural gas production. This is important to support the country's export industry, with a turnover of 92 billion Australian dollars (about $52 billion).
Canberra competes with Qatar for the position as a leading supplier of super-chilled liquefied natural gas (LNG). The country is now facing a domestic energy supply problem amid the closure of coal-fired power plants and lack of developments to compensate for declining output.
Natural gas prices continue to form a corrective channel on the H4 timeframe.
In terms of wave analysis, prices are in the formation of the third ascending wave on the hourly timeframe. Breaking through the top of the first wave at the 2.775 level will strengthen the price movement in the upward direction.
Signal:
The short-term outlook for natural gas suggests buying.
The target is at the level of 2.860.
Part of the profit should be taken near 2.775.
The Stop-loss is set at 2.600.
Bullish trend has a short-term character, so the trade volume should not be more than 2% of your balance.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.
